Rookie Travel Tips with Shannon and More on The Starwood Preferred Guest Program

Our winning tip from last week came by email from Dan. (Keep submitting your travel tips for a chance to win a $100 gift card.)”When you call United, just bark these words into the phone at the prompts and it will take you right to a representative:

Agent

Agent

Domestic (or International if you’re flying international)”

— Dan

Starwood Preferred Guest ProgramAs I shared at the beginning of the month, my bank of hotel points is pretty lame. Okay, reallylame. My husband got the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) card about six months ago for a 30,000 point sign-up bonus. We are awaiting our last 20,000 points to deposit now as we just completed the minimum spend. That will put us somewhere around 45,000 SPG points total.At the same time I applied for a Chase card with a Continental Airlines bonus and the SPG card. I was denied them both and had to write letters of reconsideration. Chase approved me and I let the SPG card go.Well, this last week I decided to re-apply for the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express with the 30,000 point bonus and I was instantly approved! I got my card a few days ago and I am using it for all of my everyday purchases. The minimum spend is only $4500 in three months and I’m sure I can do that one. Why did I get approved this time? I have no idea. But I’ll be enjoying every bonus point from here on out.

Transferring SPG Points into Frequent Flier Miles:

You may transfer up to 79,999 SPG points into a participating airlines frequent flier program within a 24-hour period. For every 20,000 SPG points transferred you will receive a 5000 point bonus! Each airline is different. For example: Air New Zealand’s maximum per transaction is 39,975 Starpoints (34,975 of your SPG points plus the 5000 point bonus). You must inquire about the specifics regarding your airline of choice.

A note to all:

“Only one airline transfer transaction per member per program per 24-hour period is allowed; multiple transfer transactions within the same 24-hour period will reject. Both the Starwood Preferred Guest and airline frequent flier program accounts must have identical member names in order to complete this request; different names will cause the transfer to reject.” (taken directly from www.SPG.com)Exchange ratios vary by airline (Starpoints to airline miles). The major players common to our readers are as follows:Alaskan Airlines 1:1
American Airlines 1:1
British Airways Executive Club 1:1
Continental Airlines OnePass 2:1
United Airlines 2:1
Hawaiian Airlines 1:1
Delta Airline Skymiles 1:1
U.S. Airways Dividend Miles 1:1LAN Lanpass 1:2(here we see some great opportunities to maximize points)Maximizing Points:

I lived in Brazil for one year and I am always trying to go back to visit so the LAN Lanpass redemption looked appealing as it is a one Starpoint for two Lanpass point ratio transfer. I was looking at their programs redemption chart to see if I could find something worthwhile. It shows that you can redeem a flight from the U.S (probably NYC or MIA) to Brazil (probably SAO or RIO) in economy class for 48,000 points ( Here is a link to the chart ). So theoretically, I could take 20,000 SPG points and redeem them with a 5000 point bonus for a total of 50,000 Lanpass miles. I could get to Brazil on 20,000 SPG points. That is a deal. Right now, to purchase a ticket on LAN from Miami to Sao Paulo, it would cost $791 plus tax and comes with a bunch of travel restrictions. Just to get a comparison with other airlines redemption charts, it would cost me anywhere from 40,000-120,000 American Airline Points to fly from the U.S. to Brazil round trip ( Here is a link for the award chart). This looks really appealing to me. We may be doing Carnival in Brazil next February — on the frugal, of course.

SPG points to LAN Airline Miles — just another way to maximize points if it works in your favor.

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US isn't as bad as it used to be (and F on the regional aircraft is coming, at least). But the mileage run opportunities are rarely there unfortunately, certainly not as affordable as UA is known to be. But if you're ok with your Y+ for next year, you can can just run on UA and bank to US. That's a little tedious to do both simultaneously though.

Texasyankee

I will hold your hand and go on some Delta MRs with you to ease the agony … 🙂 But you get to do the routing! SEA redeyes are wonderful.

Maybe it is good that I dragged my feet on the United status match and waited!

Anonymous

Hi Rick- I'm curious, is that truly enjoyable to you? I ask because you said you love your days in "flying land". For me, I'd much rather go to work for the day than on a mileage run. I guess I have an easy job 🙂

Ozaer N.

Rick—dont even waste your time telling Clark Howard about the value of FF miles–If he wants to help us in our hobby and increase the amount of availability–I say LET HIM DO IT 🙂

Nick

I'm not sure I can keep up the 100K a year as well and if Premier Executive only gets 50% bonus I may have to switch to US, although I have a suspicion they may follow UA's lead.

Anonymous

Delta has a targeted offer to earn Gold thru Feb 2013 by flying either two domestic RTs or one international RT between now and Dec 31.

Let's all remember that Canada, the Bahamas, Bermudas, etc. are all international destinations. (So, is Texas. But Delta does not see it that way.)

I will travel to Germany within two weeks. So Gold, here I come; up from Silver.

beshou7

What are the changes that are coming for United to Mileage Plus

Chappy

Anon can you provide your link? I have a flight coming up and probably another before Dec, so I'd like to give it a try…

Charles Clarke

The targetted 2 flights to Gold I've seen for Delta are if you have the Delta AMEX Gold. Not sure if there are others available.

Anonymous

See below for promotional ref code.

READY TO EARN GOLD MEDALLION STATUS?LET US HELP YOU GET THERE FASTER.Terms & ConditionsEligibility: Only members who receive this communication directly from Delta Air Lines are eligible to participate in this offer. This offer is non-transferable. This offer cannot be combined with other Delta/SkyTeam offers. To participate in this offer, eligible members must register online by December 31, 2011. Medallion status (including status granted via status match, Choice Benefits or Million Miler™ status) will not count toward promotional qualification.

Bonus Offer: Purchase and fly 2 paid round-trip domestic Delta or Delta Connection® marketed and operated flights or 1 paid round-trip international Delta or Delta Connection marketed and operated flight between date of registration and December 31, 2011 and earn Gold Medallion status through February 28, 2013. Codeshare flights operated by carriers other than the Delta Connection carriers are excluded from this offer. International flights include all international travel including flights between North America, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.Travel Period: Travel must be between date of registration and December 31, 2011. All travel must be completed by December 31, 2011.Promotional Reference Code: Please refer Delta customer service representative to 97020312.Pay with Miles: Only Gold and Platinum Delta SkyMiles and Delta Reserve Credit Cardmembers, as well as Gold and Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business and Delta Reserve for Business Credit Cardmembers, with a U.S. point of sale address in their SkyMiles account are eligible. Limited to Delta and Delta Connection carrier flights booked under the DL code on delta.com. Minimum 10,000 miles for redemption. Not eligible for mile accrual, Complimentary Upgrades, MQMs, Medallion segments, or Best Fare Guarantee. Refund restrictions apply. All SkyMiles program and Pay with Miles rules apply. To review the rules, visit Membership Guide & Program Rules.

Miscellaneous: Rollover benefit means Medallion Qualification Miles earned in 2011 above a member's earned Medallion threshold level will roll over to 2012 and count toward 2013 Medallion status qualification. Members who receive complimentary or gifted Medallion status are ineligible for rollover MQMs unless they earn more MQMs than the gifted status requirement. For example, if a member is gifted Silver Medallion status in 2011 and also earns 30,000 MQMs in 2011, s/he will be able to roll over 5,000 MQMs since the Silver Medallion requirement is 25,000 MQMs. Complimentary Upgrades are subject to availability and may not be available on all flights or in all markets. Access to and use of Delta Sky Priority services are reserved for BusinessElite, First and Business Class passengers, Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Medallion members, SkyTeam Elite Plus and Alaska Airlines® MVP® Gold members on all Delta and Delta Connection flights. Benefits subject to change at any time. All Sky Priority rules apply. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/skypriority. Medallion members traveling in the Economy Class cabin will be permitted two bags free of charge up to 70 lbs. for each bag. All passengers traveling in First/Business Class cabin will still be allowed to check up to three bags up to 70 lbs. at no additional charge on Delta and Delta Connection-operated flights only. Excess, oversize and/or overweight baggage fees may apply. All SkyMiles program rules apply to SkyMiles program membership, miles, offers, mile accrual, mile redemption, and travel benefits. To review the rules, please visit Membership Guide & Program Rules. Offers void where prohibited by law. Other restrictions may apply. Offers, rules and benefits subject to change. This SkyMiles offer is subject to change or withdrawal at any time without prior notice.

Charles Clarke

http://delta.com/earlygold is the Gold Offer. It has reference to Promotional Code 97020312. Doesn't seem to work for non-targetted.

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